THE SUNFLOWER AS A SILAGE CROP. 19 



jdelded the corn most where the conditions were least favorable for 

 the corn. He believes that sunflowers will be grrown most extensively 

 on farms unsuitecl to the production of silage corn. 



The yields shown in Table 1 seem very favorable to sunflowers 

 because the tests were made mainly in those regions where the large- 

 growing varieties of corn suited for silage purposes are not adapted 

 to the climatic conditions. It can be said also that a large part of 

 these yields was obtained under irrigation. (Fig. 7.) Where the 

 crops can not be irrigated and in localities w^here silage varieties of 



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Fig. 7. — Sunflowers grow n for silage purposes under irrigation on tlie ScoUsbiua' iieclania- 

 tion project, near Mitchell, Nebr., 1917. Yield, 22.9 tons per acre, green weight. 



corn mature properlj^, the comparative yields of corn and sunflowers 

 are much less favorable to the latter. 



FEEDING VALUE OF SUNFLOWER SILAGE.' 



Considering the fact that only a few years have elapsed since an 

 interest in the use of sunflowers for silage was created by the experi- 

 ments at the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station in 1915, a 

 comparatively large number of feeding experiments have been car- 

 ried out. Most of these indicate that sr.nflower silage when properly 

 made is equal to corn silage for milk-production purposes. Sun- 

 flower silage has also been fed at the Montana station to beef cattle, 

 breeding ewes, and brood sows with good results. 



'' Prepared with the advice and cooperation of the Animal Husbandry Division of the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture. 



